Getty Museum Debuts Cutting-Edge Technology to Showcase Cabinet
Unknown and Three wood carvings by Albert Jansz. Vinckenbrinck (Dutch, about 1604 - 1664/1665). Display Cabinet (Kabinettschrank), about 1630. Ebony and other tropical and European woods, porphyry, gemstones, marble, pewter, ivory, bone, tortoiseshell, enamel, mirror glass, brass, and painted stone. H: 73 x W: 57.9 x D: 59.1 cm, 53.1 kg. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA.- To showcase one of the most complex objects in its collection, the J. Paul Getty Museum will debut cutting-edge technology to explore a 17th-century display cabinet from Augsburg, Germany. Using Augmented Reality (AR), visitors to the Getty’s website will be able to achieve unprecedented access to this fascinating object.
The Augsburg Display Cabinet (around 1630), or Kabinettschrank, is the centerpiece of one of four newly reinstalled galleries in the Museum’s North Pavilion. A piece of furniture, it served as a repository for rare and exotic objects such as medals, gems, and shells. Displayed on a Renaissance marble table, each of the cabinet’s four sides are open to reveal its unexpectedly complex series of drawers, doors, and cupboards. A folding medal display case contains a collection of gems, rings, coins, and medals from the Museum’s Sculpture and Decorative Arts and Antiquities collections, while a mirrored door on the opposite side reflects the viewer.
The AR feature allows users to experience the Augsburg Cabinet via a 3-D object overlay on a live video feed from the viewer’s webcam—in this case, a simulation of the cabinet. The model spins, tilts, and responds as the viewer interacts with it, creating the sense of participation. This experience is caused both by the viewer's presence in the live video along with hand-eye engagement used to control the cabinet's movement.
The Augmented Reality experience was created by the Museum’s Collection Information & Access department, charged with developing innovative means to present objects in the permanent collection to empower visitors to direct their own experience with the works of art.
“We constantly seek to create dynamic presentations that engage visitors and give them new ways to interact with objects in our collection,” says Erin Coburn, head of Collection Information & Access. “Augmented Reality has previously been used primarily for advertising and promotional purposes, but we felt it offered the possibility for audiences to experience art objects in a new way and thought this particular work in our collection was ideally suited for this new technology.”
To experience the Augmented Reality technology, and explore the Augsburg Display Cabinet, visit www.getty.edu/collectorscabinet.
Céramiques chinoises des dynasties Song, Yuan et Ming @
Paire de bols évasés à bordures polylobées à couverte céladon vert. Dynastie des Song ou Yuan. XIIIe-XIVe siècle
(craquelures de cuisson et quelques éclats en bordure) Diam. 18 cm - Estimation : 1 000 / 1 500 €
Ils portent au revers l'ancienne étiquette L. MICHON Boulevard Haussmann.
Paire de raviers à bordures contournées à une aile figurant une tête de carpe à couverte céladon vert.. Deuxième moitiè du XVIIIe siècle
L. 26.5 cm - Estimation : 300 / 400 €
Plat rond à bordure contournée en grès à couverte céladon vert. Dynastie Yuan (1260-1368)
décoré de fleurs de lotus. (léger fêle). Diam. 26.5 cm - Estimation : 300 / 400 €
Petite jarre en grès à couverte céladon vert. Fours de Longquan, Dynastie Yuan (1260-1368)
décorée de fleurs de lotus à la base et de fleurs stylisées et de rinceaux fleuris sur le panse. H. 7 cm - Estimation : 200 / 300 €
Coupe ronde creuse à couverte céladon vert. Dynastie Song du Sud ou Yuan. XIIIe XIVe siècle.
à décor moulé de deux poissons au centre. Diam. 20.5 cm - Estimation : 200 / 300 €
Modèle similaire exposé à la fondation Baur à Genève (Collection de l'Ambassadeur Charles Muller)
Coupelle ronde creuse à couverte céladon vert. Dynastie Song du Sud ou Yuan. XIIIe-XIVème siècle
à décor moulé de deux poissons au centre. Diam. 12.5 cm - Estimation : 200 / 300 €
Modèle similaire exposé à la fondation Baur à Genève (Collection de l'Ambassadeur Charles Muller)
Petite verseuse en grès à couverte céladon brune. Début de la dynastie des Ming (1368-1644)
à godrons en légers reliefs. (petits éclats au bec verseur) H. 6 cm - Estimation : 150 / 250 €
Petite verseuse à panse aplatie. Début de la dynastie de Ming (1368-1644)
en grès à couverte céladon à décor moulé de fleurs de lotus stylisées. (bec verseur et anse restaurés). H 11 cm - Estimation : 150 / 200 €
Petite jarre en forme de carambote “balimbing”. Dynastie Yuan (1260- 1368)
munie de deux petites anses annulaires, elle est décorée de tâches à l'oxyde de fer sur une couverte “qingbai”. H. 6.5 cm - Estimation : 120 / 150 €
Modèle similaire exposé à la fondation Baur à Genève (Collection de l'Ambassadeur Charles Muller)
Aguttes - Paris. Vente du Mercredi 26 mai 2010. Expert Vincent L'HERROU. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 4 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. Pour tout renseignement, veuillez contacter à la maison de ventes Aude Louis Carves au 01 47 45 55 55.
Chine. Petite coupe libatoire taillée dans une pointe de corne de buffle. XVIIIe XIXe siècles
Chine. Petite coupe libatoire taillée dans une pointe de corne de buffle. XVIIIe XIXe siècles
La base ajourée est sculptée en forme de racines noueuses se développant en branches fleuries enveloppant la coupe. H. 11 cm - Estimation : 2 000 / 3 000 €
Aguttes - Paris. Vente du Mercredi 26 mai 2010. Expert Vincent L’HERROU. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 4 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. Pour tout renseignement, veuillez contacter à la maison de ventes Aude Louis Carves au 01 47 45 55 55.
Baroque Cabinets and Exceptional Sculpture Highlight Christie's Sale
NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s will present an exceptional sale of 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, including Oriental Carpets and including Sculpture from the Collection of Michael Hall on June 11, which will comprise over 400 lots from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The sale will include exquisite treasures such as bronze sculptures from the Collection of Michael Hall, a monumental pair of Italian baroque cabinets, and a beautifully carved pair of Louis XV giltwood canapés.
Highlighting the sale is a spectacular pair of Italian tortoiseshell, ebony and ivory cabinets-on-stands from Naples, circa 1660-1680 (estimate: $400,000-600,000). These monumental Baroque cabinets stand fully 10 feet high and are among the largest known examples of this impressive form. They represent the absolute height and expression of the art of baroque cabinetmaking–as demonstrated in the cabinets’ architectural form, use of red tortoiseshell and ebony, and central niches with theatrical illusionistic scenes. More recently, they were supplied to the current owner’s family by the legendary taste-maker and interior designer Renzo Mongiardino.
A pair of Italian tortoiseshell, ebony and ivory cabinets-on-stands Naples, circa 1660-1680, 120in. (305cm.) high, 115½in. (293.5cm.) wide, 30in. (76cm.) deep. Estimate: $400,000 - 600,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010.
Of monumental scale, each with a balustraded cornice flanked by faceted urns above a paneled pediment and eight drawers surrounding an architectural door flanked by hidden drawers and opening to an arcaded mirrored interior, the lower section with canted fluted tapering supports flanking cartouche panels centered by a cabochon, the whole raised on a molded plinth and later feet, the back of one pediment with indistinct brand, possibly the initials 'SJ' - 120in. (305cm.) high, 115½in. (293.5cm.) wide, 30in. (76cm.) deep (2)
Provenance: Reputedly supplied to the Counts of Porto di Vicenza.
Acquired from Dino Franzin, New York.
Supplied by Renzo Mongiardino to the present owner.
Literature: S. Colombo, L'Arte del Legno e del Mobile in Italia, Turin, 1981, fig. 316.
R. Mongiardino, Roomscapes, New York, 1993, pp. 58-9.
Notes: These spectacular cabinets illustrate the absolute height of the art of baroque cabinet-making. With their supremely architectural form, extensive use of sumptuous red tortoiseshell and ebony, and central niches with a mirrored theatrical illusionistic scene, they demonstrate the full expression of baroque cabinet-making in Naples in the mid-17th century.
Although a number of these types of cabinets exist in Spain, where they are thought to be Spanish, many are almost certainly of Neapolitan origin. There were strong ties between Naples and Spain in the 17th century, as Naples was under Spanish rule at that time, and the extensive use of tortoiseshell was due to the availability of the material from Spanish colonial sources.
Related Neapolitan cabinets of the period also display similar architectural forms combined with tortoiseshell and ebony, and sometimes gilt mounts, such as a four foot-wide table cabinet with undulating facade and checkerboard pattern interior floor, illustrated in M. Riccardi- Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, London, 1992, p. 60, pl. 26-27. More typical are the use of inset painted panels of biblical and mythical scenes after Luca Giordano (Naples 1634-1705), and a separate, heavily carved giltwood base. Examples of these types of cabinets include those sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 18 November 2009, lot 322 and Sotheby's London, 16 Dec 1998, lot 127 and one in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, illustrated in E. Colle Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan, 2000, p. 66, pl. 14.
THE REPUTED PROVENANCE
One of this pair of cabinets is illustrated in S. Colombo, L'Arte del Legno in Italia, 1981, where the author suggests they were reputedly supplied to the Counts of Porto di Vicenza. The Porto family was one of the most distinguished in Vicenza, and in the 16th Century members of the family such as Count Paolo Porto were among the most significant patrons of the celebrated architect Andrea Palladio, commissioning from him the Villa Porto in Vivaro di Dueville and the Palazzo Porto-Colleoni which was transformed by Palladio from a Gothic castle, and also of artists such as Veronese, who in 1551 painted Count Giuseppe de Porto and his wife.
Colombo (op. cit.,) also suggests that the cabinets were actually executed in Vicenza, however they are more likely to have originated in Naples based upon the stylistic links with similar Neapolitan cabinets of the period. It is also interesting to note that Vicenza was involved in several wars with Naples and was briefly under Naples' rule, so it would be natural to assume that Neapolitan works of art would be commissioned by Vicenzan nobles.
Sculpture from the Collection of Michael Hall
Christie's is proud to offer this enticing selection from one of the most fabled collections of sculpture in America. Michael Hall has collected throughout his life and has a wide range of interests including Greek and Roman marbles, Imperial Chinese carpets, Renaissance ceramics, but it is sculpture that has always been his primary focus. The works of art offered have a real emphasis on handsome modeling, dazzling contortions and glistening surfaces and many relate to Giambologna’s works. A prominent highlight is a bronze group of Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini (1585-1653), after the model by Giambologna (estimate: $400,000-600,000). This early 17th century group bears many of the hallmarks of the great Florentine bronzes of the late 16th and early 17th century. Through the mythological subject matter, model, and bravura treatment of the bronze, it has all the hallmarks of the great Italian baroque masters.
A bronze group of Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini (1585-1653), after the model by Giambologna. Estimate: $400,000-600,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
On an integrally-cast naturalistic ground and a later circular wooden base - 15 3/8 in. (39 cm.) high, 17 1/8 in. (43.5 cm.) high with base.
Provenance: Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 11 April 1990. lot 149.
Exhibited: C. Avery and M. Hall, Giambologna: An Exhibition of Sculpture by the Master and his Followers from the Collection of Michael Hall, Esq., Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York, 1998, no. 17.
Giambologna and his Followers: Sculpture from the Collections of Michael Hall, Miami-Dade College Museum of Art, Freedom Tower, 9 October 2009-20 February 2010.
Notes
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, Giambologna, sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat., Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1978, no. 76.
A. Radcliffe, 'Giambologna's Twelve Labours of Hercules,' The Connoisseur, September, 1978, pp. 12-19.
C. W. Fock, 'The Original Silver Casts of Giambologna's Labours of Hercules,' in Studien zum Europäischen Kunsthandwerk: Festschrift Yvonne Hackenbroch, Munich, 1983, pp. 141-145.
C. Avery, Giambologna: The Complete Sculpture, Oxford, 1987, pp. 141-142, 262.
W. Seipel, ed., Giambologna: Triumph des Körpers, exh. cat., Vienna, 2006, pp. 95-99.
This magnificent group bears many of the hallmarks of the great Florentine bronzes of the late 16th and early 17th century. And, in particular, the workshop of Giambologna and Susini. Together with the mythological subject matter, model, and dazzling and bravura treatment of the bronze, the sculpture is futher linked to these great masters through traces of the original red-gold lacquer, the characteristic punching of the base and even the original casting repairs under the right shoulder.
As has now been well-established, Giambologna was commissioned by the Grand-Duke Francesco I de' Medici in 1576 to make models for a series of statuettes in silver depicting six of the Labors of Hercules for the celebrated Tribuna in the Uffizi gallery. These were cast in Paris by the court goldsmiths and Michele Mazzafirri was paid for his silver version of the present subject in 1582. None of the original silver versions survive, but bronze versions were evidently soon thereafter commissioned -- possibly even using the original molds -- as by 1607-11 there were two of the Labors in the illustrious Kunstkammer of Rudolph II in Prague. Giambologna's wax of Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, initially in the collection of Giambologna's patron Bernardo Vecchietti at his country house Il Riposo, probably survived and may be the one now in the Loeser Bequest, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
Other bronze versions of this model include the one recorded in the collection of Louis XIV in 1684 (current location unknown), one formerly with the Durlacher Brothers, London, when it was published by Bode in Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, vol. III, 1912, p. 10, fig. 13 and a third, with a slightly different configuration of the heads of the Hydra, and also attributed to Susini, from the collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson, which was sold Sotheby's, London, 8 July 2009, lot 18.
Furniture and Works of Art
The furniture in the sale covers a whole range of styles from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The rococo style is represented by a beautiful pair of Louis XV Giltwood Canapés en Corbeille with sinuous sculpted frames (estimate: $100,000-150,000), crafted by Sylvain Nicolas Blanchard, circa 1760. These superb canapés formed part of the collection of Karl Lagerfeld, the legendary couturier and style icon, the sale of whose collection at Christie’s Monaco in 2000 was a landmark event.
A pair of Louis XV giltwood canapes en corbeille by Sylvain Nicolas Blanchard, circa 1760. Estimate: $100,000-150,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Each molded curved frame with cabochon and floral spray cresting and punctuated by floral sprays and with a paneled back and bowed loose cushion seat covered in blue striped silk enclosed by foliate and incurved arms, the shaped apron with floral spray cabochons on cabriole legs with leaf sprays, the reverse of the frame incised with floral sprays, with blue printed paper inventory label with ink inscription 3034 CANAPE to the frames, one stamped S. BLANCHARD twice to back seatrail - 56 in. (142 cm.) wide (2)
Provenance: Karl Lagerfeld; Christie's, Monaco, 28-29 April 2000, lot 325.
Acquired from Didier Aaron, Paris.
Literature: B.G.B. Pallot, L'Art du Siège au XVIIIme Siècle en France, Paris, 1987, p. 286.
Notes: Sylvain Nicolas Blanchard, maître in 1743.
These superb canapés, with their sinuous, beautifully sculpted frames, embody the last flowering of rococo seat furniture in France in the 1750s and 1760s, the so-called 'rocaille symetrisé' as defined by Bill Pallot in his seminal work on 18th century seat furniture L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, where the canapés are illustrated.
These canapés formed part of the collection of Karl Lagerfeld, the legendary couturier and style icon, the sale of whose collection in 1999 was a landmark event. His collection was particular rich in seat furniture, with all the great menuisiers represented, including iconic examples in the Louis XV, Transitional and Louis XVI styles by celebrated makers such as Louis Delanois, Jean Avisse, Jean-Baptiste Tilliard and Pierre Bara.
Exotically appealing is a spectacular pair of Italian blue and polychrome-Japanned and parcel-gilt armchairs, circa 1730, which represent the Italian taste for chinoiserie and the foreign in the 18th century (estimate: $80,000-120,000). The figures depicted on these armchairs were inspired by the travelogues of Europeans who visited the Orient and brought back the exotic sights they had seen in the form of tales and engravings. Also offered in the sale is a pair of George II mahogany library armchairs, circa 1755 (estimate: $100,000-150,000), whose elegant and richly carved serpentine frames reflect the Rococo “French fashion” as interpreted by English mid-18th century cabinet makers.
A pair of Italian blue and polychrome-japanned and parcel-gilt throne armchairs. Possibly Sicily, circa 1730. Estimate: $80,000-120,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Each with pierced arched back and central splat with shell cresting above downscrolled arms, the drop-in seat covered in blue and cream silk velvet, with pierced shell seatrail, on ruffle-carved cabriole legs joined by scroll-carved stretchers, ending in ball-and-claw feet, decorated overall with chinoiserie figures and flowers, one chair with remains of blue bordered paper label inscribed in black ink ...piotta and in red ink ...ealo Ve/luigi XIV, the decoration refreshed, with traces of an earlier blue scheme, minor variations to carving and scale (2)
Literature: G. Morazzoni, Il Mobile Veneziano, Milan, 1954, Plate XLIV and XLV (one armchair is cited as in a Roman collection).
Notes: These spectacular throne armchairs are a remarkable example of the Italian taste for chinoiserie and the exotic in the eighteenth century. Dating back to the seventeenth century, the fashion for chinoiserie developed when European travellers to the Orient brought back tales and engravings of the exotic sights they had seen. The charming figures depicted on these armchairs were no doubt inspired by such alluring travelogues.
The fascination with the Orient took hold at an early stage in Italy, principally through the trading ties of ports such as Venice, where the earliest European laquered wares are known to have been produced. Until recently, it was thought that the majority of japanned furniture in Italy was produced in Venice, a natural assumption given its longstanding trading links with the Orient and the fact that its lacquer craftsmen were famed throughout Europe for their imitations of Chinese and Japanese wares. However recent research has acknowledged that almost every region in Italy had its own distinctive tradition of japanning.
With their theatrical scale and dramatic scrolled form, these throne armchairs probably originate from Sicily, depsite the fact that they are illustrated in Il Mobile Veneziano. Gilt throne armchairs from Sicily, of slightly earlier date but of similar scale and dynamic outline are illustrated in M. Gianizzo and A. Rotolo, Il Mobile Siciliano, Palermo, 2004, p. 68, pl. 85, 87, 88.
An extraordinary pair of Regency faux bamboo, japanned, painted and parcel-gilt open cabinets which are attributed to Marsh and Tatham, circa 1806-1810 (estimate: $40,000-60,000) demonstrate the Regency vogue for Chinese design interpreted in a most vivid way, a style that was driven by the enthusiasm of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. An Empire ormolu, patinated bronze and porphyry gueridon, circa 1810 (estimate: $200,000-300,000) makes an impressive, splendid center table that illustrates the fashion taste for à l’antique furniture designs in the early years of the Napoleonic Empire. The table is based on a design by architect Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine and is nearly identical to one made for the Elysée Palace, now in the Grand Trianon at Versailles. The enduring fascination for ancient Rome among English collectors is reflected in an exceptional Regency Goncalo Alves and Scagliola center table, circa 1820 (estimate: $80,000-120,000), which features vivid scenes of Ancient Rome on a superb scagliola table top; while an Irish Regency oak and pollard oak bookcase, made by Scott and Pasley, in Dublin circa 1829-30 (estimate: $70,000-100,000) is a spectacular rare example of full-scale architectural furniture in the Egyptian taste of the early 19th century.
A pair of regency faux bamboo, japanned, painted and parcel-gilt open cabinets. Attributed to Marsh and Tatham, circa 1806-1810. Estimate: $40,000-60,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Each rectangular top with canted corners inset with Portor marble over a conforming case with faux bamboo borders and painted with pseudo Chinese characters and enclosing shelves, the sides inset with japanned panels, on bamboo-turned sabre legs, each with metal labels to reverse embossed M91, the Chinese characters probably largely re-decorated, the tops probably later although apparently with the cabinets at the time of the 1934 sale at Middleton Park - 37¾in. (96cm.) high, 48½in. (123cm.) wide, 16¾in. (42.5cm.) deep (2)
Provenance: Almost certainly supplied in 1806-1810 to George Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey (1773-1859) and his wife Lady Sophie Fane (d.1867) for the Chinese Room at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, and by descent to
George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998), Middleton Park, Hampton and Sons house sale, 28 May 10 June 1934, lots 1398 and 1399. Edward James, Esq., Monkton House, West Dean, Sussex, until sold in Christies house sale, 2-6 June 1986, lot 315.
With Mallett, London.
The Collection of Mrs. Carroll Petrie, Sothebys, New York, 21 October 2005, lot 166.
Literature: Christie's, Review of the Season, 1986, p. 210.
Notes: These cabinets illustrate the Regency vogue for Chinese design interpreted in a most vivid and colorful way. This style was in a large part driven by the enthusiasm of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, who first created the Chinese Drawing Room at Carlton House followed by his extraordinary seaside Pavilion at Brighton. An undertaking that began as early as 1787, the Chinese-inspired interiors at the Brighton Pavilion were initiated by the decorators John and Frederick Crace in 1802. Records show that all sorts of imported Chinese artefacts -- bamboo and lacquered furniture, wallpaper, porcelain, costumes and other curiosities -- were collected by the Craces at the East India Company wharfs in London. As part of this scheme, furniture designed by Henry Holland and supplied by the London cabinet-makers Elward, Marsh and Tatham took their inspiration from these lacquer and bamboo wares but reconfigured into Western forms. Views of the Long Gallery at Brighton executed by architect John Nash in 1826 show a predominance of bamboo -- bamboo furniture sits before brightly painted canvases depicting waving bamboo, while the space is dramatically segmented by split-cane trelliswork (J. Dinkel, 'The Furnishings of The Royal Pavilion,' Arts of Asia, May-June 1988, pp. 133-138).
Stylistically, the cabinets compare closely to two similar sets supplied for Brighton by Elward, Marsh and Tatham: a set of six inset with lacquer panels (see C. Musgrave, Regency Furniture 1800-1830, London, 1961, pl. 24A) and a further set of four with pleated panels (as seen in the Nash illustrations). A related but undocumented cabinet attributed to the firm is now in the public collection at Temple Newsam House, Leeds (C. Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, Leeds, 1998, vol. III, pp. 570-571, fig. 684).
THE CHINESE ROOM AT MIDDLETON PARK
These cabinets were almost certainly supplied in 1806-10 for the Chinese Room created at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, as part of the extensive alterations and enlargements undertaken by the 5th Earl of Jersey after 1805, under the direction of the architect Thomas Cundy Senior (1765-1825). Alterations continued throughout those four years but it is clear that furnishing was happening simultaneously: the famous account of 1806-1807 from John McLean is for almost £5,000, enough to cover an almost complete furnishing of both Middleton and the London house in Berkeley Square (G. Beard and C. Gilbert, eds., The Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 568). The attribution to Marsh and Tatham, already suggested on stylistic grounds, is reinforced by a payment in 1804 from Lord Jersey (then Lord Villiers) to that firm of £715 (op. cit., p. 279). Marsh and Tatham had worked for his father in 1797.
If these cabinets are linked to the 1804 payment to Marsh and Tatham it would suggest that Lord Jersey created the Chinese Room before starting on the main enlargements to the house and at the period when that firm was supplying furniture of exactly this style to the Brighton Pavilion. Lord Jersey (then Lord Villiers) had married the grand-daughter and heiress of the banker Robert Child in May 1804 and his father died in August 1805, when he became the 5th Earl. It seems possible that the Chinese Room was an ultra-fashionable celebration of his 1804 marriage, but it seems more likely that it was not begun until after his fathers death in 1805, in which case the 1804 payment possibly refers to his earlier house, Prospect Lodge at Tunbridge Wells.
The strength of the chinoiserie theme at Middleton is shown by the detail of the McLean commission, which included several pieces of furniture of japan and lacquer, including some which seem to have included lacquer provided by Lord Jersey ('A black Japann cabinet made to your Japan' -- S. Redburn, 'John McLean and Son,' Furniture History, 1978, p. 36) ). The group was very large and intriguingly hard to identify in the Middleton sale.
The artist William Alfred Delamotte (1775-1863) was commissioned to record interior and exterior views of Middleton in 1840. His two views of the Chinese Room, showing much of the furniture that remained there in the 1900 photographs and the 1934 sale, were sold Christies London, 13 December 1988, lot 53, have been on the London art market subsequently and were published in C. Gere, Nineteenth-Century Decoration, The Art of the Interior, London, 1989, p. 234, fig. 265 and S. Parissien, Regency Style, London, 1992, p. 156. Although these cabinets are not identifiable in the photograph, it is possible that the outline of a bookcase shows one of them in the same position flanking the chimneypiece where it was photographed c. 1900 (reproduced here).
The cabinets appear in the sale catalogue for the house sale conducted by Hampton and Sons in 1934 where they were still located in the Chinese Room. They were sold as consecutive lots described as:
Lot 1398: A bamboo japanned dwarf open bookcase with red lacquer interior and rosewood panels decorated in Chinese gold script, the top of black figured marble (4ft)
Lot 1399: A similar lot
MONKTON HOUSE, WEST DEAN
These sensational cabinets were acquired as part of the collections formed by Edward James at Monkton House, which was in the park of his parents' house at West Dean Park, Sussex, in the mid-1930s. James altered Monkton with the architect Kit Nicholson, son of William and brother of Ben, but the interiors were an extraordinary and personal combination of surrealism and 'Vogue Regency.' James created these in conjunction with Norris Wakefield, then an assistant to the decorator Dolly Mann. 'Although unique, it was also wonderfully representative of its time for, under the umbrella of Surrealism, fashionable Vogue Regency and even avant-garde neo-Victorian were combined with art deco.'
Ceramics and Glass
Among the ceramics on offer are plates from important services made in Germany at Meissen (the Möllendorf and Earl of Jersey Services) and in France at Sèvres (the Rohan, Auckland, and Sudell services), an interesting Sèvres ecuelle, cover and stand painted with garlands of flowers and trophies of music edged in gilt in imitation of cloisonné enamel by either Louis-François L'Ecot or Jean-Jacques Dieu, a trophy of Love hidden beneath the broth bowl on the emplacement of the stand (estimate: $12,000-18,000). The sale also features a selection of Italian porcelain descended through the family of Don Placido de Sangro, Duca di Martina, half of which collection is now housed in the Museo Nazionale della Ceramica Duca di Martina in the Villa della Floridiana, Naples. Among the group are two impressive sculptures of circa 1800 modeled by Filippo Tagliolini at the Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, Naples (estimates of $20,000-30,000 and $25,000-30,000). Also in the sale are a small selection of Continental and English wine glasses and decorative beakers, and a well rounded selection of paperweights by Baccarat and other important glass makers with estimates ranging from $2,000 to $7,000.
A Sèvres (hard paste) porcelain écuelle, cover and stand (écuelle 'nouvelle forme avec anses' et plateau 'avec anses à feuille de roseaux', première grandeur). Estimate: $12,000-18,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Carmine crowned interlaced L's enclosing an indistinct date, possibly letter X for 1775 or dd for 1781, painter's mark for Fallot. Painted in jewel-like colors and enriched in gilt in imitation of cloisonné enamel with alternate loose bouquets and trophies of Music or Love within gilt ciselé ribbon-tied medallions, the medallions linked by swags of flowers suspended from gilt dots in turn suspending a parrot perched on a hoop, the pink diaper-pattern ground further painted and gilt with crossed berried vines, gilt line rims - 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm.) wide overall, the stand (3)
Notes: Jean-Armand Fallot was active at Sèvres 1771-1790. Although recorded as a gilder and painter of birds and patterns, he is more likely responsible for the ground decoration on the present lot.
The fine decorative painting edged in gold in imitation of cloisonné enamel is almost certainly that of either Louis-François L'Ecot, active 1761-1764 and 1772-1800 or of Jean-Jacques Dieu, active 1777-1791, 1794-1798 and 1801-1811, both of whom painted in this highly specialized style popular in the third quarter of the 18th century.
Two Sèvres porcelain beau bleu ornithological sauceboat stands from the 'Sudell service' (plateau losange saucière) Circa 1792. Estimate: $12,000-18,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
blue RF monogram for the Republic Française. Each with a central specimen bird on a branch, the border with three other birds reserved within ovals at each corner, the four named in French on the underside, a gilt shield with the Sudell coat of arms on the fourth corner - 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) wide (2)
Notes: The decoration on the Sudell Service, described in the factory's records as Beau bleu, peint en oiseaux d'après la Colection [sic] d'histoire naturelle de Buffon, et Armoirie etc. Ass[iette] N.. 140 des dessins is taken from François Nicolas Martinet's illustrations for the comte de Buffon's Histoire naturelle des oiseaux published in ten volumes between 1770 and 1786. The factory began using a copy of this treatise as a basis for decoration from about 1781.
The service, commissioned for an Englishman and delivered through the auspices of Jean-Frédéric Perregaux and his partner J. Lanos on 31 December 1792, was sold without the usual trade discount of 9 However, it is interesting to note that both men received porcelain gifts instead - payment in kind for their assistance with such a valuable order. See David Peters, Sèvres Plates and Services of the 18th Century, 2005, vol. IV, cat. no. 92-31 and vol. VI, p. 1470 for a detailed discussion of the commission and its history.
A Sèvres porcelain bleu céleste plate from the 'Rohan' service (assiette à palmes). Estimate $10,000 - $15,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Greyish blue interlaced L's enclosing date letter S for 1771, painter's cp above for Chappuis, incised X. Each with LPR monogram in two shades of gold enclosed within a wreath of acorns and oak leaves, tree roots at the bottom, the turquoise border reserved with three panels of a bird in a landscape alternate with gilt oak vines suspended from rings - 9¾ in. (24.7 cm.) diameter.
Provenance: Louis-René-Edouard, Prince (later Cardinal Prince) de Rohan, 1772.
Notes: The present plate is from a service of some 368 pieces made by Sèvres for Louis-René-Edouard, Prince (later Cardinal Prince) de Rohan and itemized in the sales records for 7 September 1772 at a total cost of 20,772 livres. See Geoffrey de Bellaigue, French Porcelain in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, 2009, cat. no. 158, p. 622 for another plate from this service marked and incised for the same date of facture, bird painter and repareur.
Antoine-Joseph Chappuis l'aîné is recorded at Sèvres as a painter specializing in birds and flowers 1761-1787.
PROVENANCE FOR LARGE PORTIONS OF THE SERVICE:
Prince Demidoff, Palazzo San Donato, Florence.
Leopold de Rothschild, Exbury, Hampshire.
Anthony de Rothschild, Ascott Wing, England.
Mrs. Marjorie Merriweather Post, 'Hillwood', Washington, D.C.
Thelma Chrysler Foy, New York; Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 22 May 1959, lot 431 (40 pieces).
The Estate of Jessie Woolworth Donohue, Southampton; Sotheby Parke-Bernet Inc., New York, 29 April 1972, lot 72.
A Naples (Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea) white porcelain allegorical figure group. Circa 1800, attributed to Fillipo Tagliolini. Estimate $25,000 - $30,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Modeled in the round with four draped female figures seated around a central core, one wearing an Egyptian headdress, her arms around a lioness, a sheaf of wheat in her arms, another as Pallas Athena, a small figure of Nike in her right hand and balanced on her knee, one as a maiden wearing a chiton, a laurel wreath in her hair, seated with her knees bent, her sandaled feet on rockwork, the fourth seated serenely gazing downward, a squared off hat on her head, an obelisk likely what is lacking from the central platform - 14½ in. (36.8 cm.) high; 19 in. (48.2 cm.) wide (3)
Notes: The iconography of these four figures is difficult to interpret with certainty. What is certain is that it is an important realization of 18th century sculpture in porcelain paste, the firing cracks and filled fissures and joins a testament to the difficulty of firing something on this grand scale in the 18th century.
The attribution to Tagliolini is based on a comparison of the present group with that of The Judgement of Paris confirmed as the work of Tagliolini, examples of which are in the collections of the Louvre and the Museo di San Martino, Naples. See Alessandra Mottola Molfino, L'Arte della Porcellana in Italia, vol. II, 1977, cat. no. 347.
A Naples biscuit group of Alexander and Diogenes. Circa 1800, Modeled by Filippo Tagliolini. Estimate $20,000 - $30,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
The young Alexander the Great standing to the right of the cynic, the old philosopher seated by his tub - 14 1/8 in. (36 cm.) high (4).
Notes: The present model depicts the meeting between Alexander the Great, young king of the Greeks, and Diogenes, an old philosopher who lived in a barrel by the Temple of Ceres, eschewing all creature comforts and reputedly the wisest man in Greece. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the grumbled reply came "move out of my sunlight." The king's entourage started complaining about how rude the philosopher was being to their ruler. Alexander's reply - "If I were not Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes."
Cf. Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios, Lo Scultore Filippo Tagliolini et la Porcellana di Napoli, cat. no. 30, pp. 162, illus. for the example in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan.
Carpets
Notably featured in the sale is a Louis XIV silk-embroidered table carpet, France, circa 1675 (estimate: $150,000-250,000). This magnificent carpet, designed to embellish a table rather than cover a floor, displays the highest quality of workmanship, design, material and technique. The allegorical animals such as the peacock and lion further enhance the mystery of who might have commissioned an elaborately conceived and finely executed piece that truly stands in a class of its own among the known embroideries of its time. Further highlights include a Heriz carpet, Northwest Persia, late 19th century (estimate: $15,000-20,000); a Sarouk Fereghan carpet, West Persia, circa 1900 (estimate: $25,000-35,000); and a silk Mohtasham Kashan rug, Central Persia, late 19th century (estimate: $6,000-9,000).
A Louis XIV silk-embroidered table carpet. France, Circa 1675. Estimate $150,000 - $250,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Approximately 15 ft. 9 in. x 8 ft. 2 in. (480 cm. x 249 cm.)
Provenance: Acquired from Steinitz, Paris.
Literature: J. Thurman, 'Chicago Symphony,' Architectural Digest, November 2009, pp. 132-139.
Steinitz, 2004, pp. 40-49.
Exhibited: Biennale Paris.
Notes: This magnificent carpet, designed to embellish a table rather than cover a floor, displays the highest quality of workmanship, design, material and technique. The entire carpet is executed on a linen foundation embroidered with richly colored silk threads, in a highly elaborate technique combining a satin stitch with a herringbone design similar to Pont d'Hongrie. 17th century embroidery of this magnificent quality was produced in France, where weaving enjoyed crucial royal patronage. Though a definitive provenance for the present lot can not be determined at this time, the renowned Savonnerie, Beauvais and Gobelins workshops produced contemporaneous pile and flatwoven carpets, many of which have been positively attributed based on inventory listings and surviving watercolor designs. This carpet fits firmly into the 17th century French oeuvre, whether its origin was a professional or a courtly French workshop.
The carpet is also unparalleled in quality of drawing, elaborate details and shading, as well as the allegorical significance of the animals that occupy the space. The peacock that stands in the center of the carpet with its feathers proudly displayed is a reference to the Roman goddess Juno, and connotes royalty. The peacock has also been known as a Christian symbol representing the all seeing nature of God and religion. The heraldic passant regardant lions further emphasize the royal symbolism while the rabbits that graze among the rinceaux of the major border may be associated with fertility and abundance.
A pair of needlework table carpets in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art share the same quality as the present lot but with a more simplified design program. While the Wrightsman carpets display similar overall elaborate rinceaux and flowers, the details of the drawing, specifically of the animals, is not as finely articulated. Here the animals are more expressive, with the details and shading providing emotion and action. The straight edges of the Wrightsman carpet are a further departure from the scalloped edges of the present lot that accommodate the lush, blossoming tulips in the border.
While the question of attribution may remain unanswered pending the discovery of an inventory or model drawing, this table carpet nevertheless stands as testimony to the magnificence of French embroidery of the 17th century. The allegorical animals further enhance the mystery of who might have commissioned such an elaborately conceived and finely executed piece that truly stands in a class of its own among the known embroideries of its time.
A Heriz carpet. Northwest Persia, Late 19th Century. Estimate: $15,000-20,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Approximately 18 ft. 8 in. x 11 ft. 9 in. (569 cm. x 358 cm.)
A Sarouk Fereghan carpet, West Persia, circa 1900. Estimate: $25,000-35,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Approximately 23 ft. 10 in. x 14 ft. 2 in. (726 cm. x 432 cm.)
A silk Mohtasham Kashan rug, Central Persia, late 19th century. Estimate: $6,000-9,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Approximately 6 ft. 8 in. x 4 ft. 3 in. (203 cm. x 129 cm.)
Neuf cannes et badines à pommeau "vanité"
Pommeau de canne en bois de cerf figurant un crâne souriant. Travail allemand du XIXe siècle.
Haut. : 12,5 cm. Sur un socle en bois. Estimation : 300 €
Badine à pommeau en ivoire sculpté représentant un crâne humain.
Fût en rondelles de papier. Férule en fer. Long. : 85 cm. AT - Estimation : 200 €
Badine à pommeau en bronze argenté représentant un crâne humain, au dessous un serpent s'enroulant sur deux tibias entrecroisés, blason neutre.
Fût en jonc de Malacca. Férule en laiton. Long. : 84 cm. AT - Estimation : 300 €
Belle canne à pommeau en ivoire sculpté représentant un crâne humain primitif.
Fût en merisier. Férule en laiton. Long. : 86 cm. AT - Estimation : 800 €
Belle canne à pommeau en argent représentant un crâne humain.
Fût en ébène. Férule en corne. Long. : 90 cm. AT - Estimation : 600 €
Superbe canne à pommeau en ivoire sculpté représentant une tête de samouraï à « l'écorché ».
Fût en palissandre. Férule en corne noire. Travail japonais signé dans un cartouche de nacre. Long. : 90 cm. AT - Estimation : 1 500 €
Badine à pommeau en ivoire sculpté représentant un crâne humain.
Fût en bois noirci. Férule en laiton. Bague en fer. Remontage. Long. : 85 cm. AT - Estimation : 200 €
Canne à pommeau en bois représentant un crâne humain, mâchoire articulée.
Fût torsadé. Bagues et férule en corne. Long. : 90 cm. AT - Estimation : 150 €
Belle canne à pommeau en bronze représentant un crâne humain.
Fût en jonc de Malacca. Férule en laiton (anciennement coupée). Long. : 90 cm. AT - Estimation : 500 €
Delorme - Collin du Bocage - Paris. Vente du Vendredi 28 mai 2010. Expert Monsieur Arnaud THOMASSON. Pour tout renseignement, veuillez contacter la maison de ventes au 01 58 18 39 05 ou au 01 48 00 20 01 pendant l'exposition et la vente
'Barn Find' James Bond Car @ Bonhams
A one owner 1962 'barn find' DB4 Aston Martin used as a 'test mule' by James Bond special effects designers is to go up for auction at Bonhams Aston Martin car sale at the Aston Martin Works Service, Newport Pagnell on 22nd May 2010 – the only auction devoted entirely to this iconic marque.
1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Vantage Saloon. photo Bonhams Registration no. 3 SMF. Chassis no. DB4/986/R. Engine no. 370/1039/SS - Estimate £40,000-50,000 Sold for £84,000 
Note: 'Performance, controllability and comfort have been combined in the Aston Martin DB4 to make it a highly desirable car: one in which long journeys can be completed very quickly indeed with the minimum of risk or discomfort and the maximum of pleasure.' - The Motor.
Manufactured between October 1958 and June 1963, the DB4 developed through no fewer than five series. The first had already undergone a number of improvements, including the fitting of heavy-duty bumpers after the first 50 cars, before the second series arrived in January 1960. A front-hinged bonnet, bigger brake calipers and an enlarged sump were the major changes made on the Series II, while the third series featured separate rear lights, two bonnet stays and a host of improvements to the interior fittings. The fourth series was readily distinguishable by its new grille, with seven vertical bars, shallower bonnet intake and recessed rear lights, while the final (fifth) series manufactured between September 1962 and June 1963 was built on a 3.5" longer wheelbase (allowing for increased leg room and a larger boot) and gained 15" wheels, an electric radiator fan and the DB4GT-type instrument panel. As always, a Special Series Vantage engine was available as an option. This unit, equipped with larger valves, raised compression ratio and triple SU carburettors produced no less than 266bhp at 5,700rpm, an increase of 26bhp over standard. Almost all DB4 Vantages were built with the faired-in headlights of the DB4GT.
An ex-factory demonstrator, this 'barn find' DB4 was built for press tycoon Max Aitken (1st Baron Beaverbrook) and was purchased in December 1963 by the current vendor. The Aston was a regular sight at Pinewood Studios where its owner worked as a special effects designer, and served as a 'test mule' during preparatory work for the first James Bond movie, 'Goldfinger', being measured for the various gadgets – ejector seat, machine guns, etc – that would feature on the silver DB5 driven by Bond (Sean Connery) in the film. Somewhat annoyed by the delayed delivery of DB5s from the factory, Bond franchise producer Cubby Broccoli once turned to the DB4's owner and said, 'Why don't we just use your car and spray it silver?'
The Aston was spared that fate but worse was in store, as it was 'rear-ended' by a getaway car fleeing a jewel robbery in London. '3 SMF' was repaired but for some reason came back without a boot lock, a deficiency exploited by thieves who made off with the battery, tools and spare wheel while the car was parked. This incident happened in the summer of 1974, at which time the Aston was consigned to the garage where it has remained ever since.
Interesting modifications made to '3 SMF' include a special factory-fitted clutch with lighter 'push', an Icelert (fitted by the factory prior to a trip to Moscow in the 1960s), an engine vacuum gauge and a thermostatically activated overheating alert. Sold strictly as viewed, this potentially most rewarding DB4 restoration project is offered with copy old-style logbook and Swansea V5.
1976 Aston Martin V8 Coupé. photo Bonhams Chassis no. V8/11472/RCA. Engine no. V/540/1472. Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 Unsold Several years ago Dr Peter Nelson, founder of 'The Bond Museum' in Keswick, was invited to Pinewood Studios with Eon Productions' accountant to inspect the contents of the now famous Shed 10. Shed 10 was used by the James Bond producers to store many of their old props, and the building had rarely been unlocked in many years. Inside were several Aston Martin V8 vehicles from the 1987 James Bond film, 'The Living Daylights', staring Timothy Dalton. Some were glassfibre shells and some were complete road and stunt cars. It was an amazing sight and Dr Nelson was able to purchase from the store one complete car, one glassfibre shell, one half-complete car and the 'process unit'. The latter was a V8 that had had the front and rear ends removed to enable the camera crew to film Timothy Dalton driving the car in front of a 'blue screen' in the studio.
Only one of the Aston Martins used in the film was actually a new model: the V8 Volante that was the personal vehicle of Chairman Victor Gauntlett. However several cars were needed for filming so a clever movie trick was performed: the producers made it appear that the car would have a winter hard top fitted in Q's laboratory so that for the remainder of the film they could simply use a coupé version. These other 'winterised' V8s were older 'Oscar India' cars made to look like the new model, as many would need to be destroyed during the filming.
The process unit was first shipped to Aston Martin dealers, Stratton Motor Company in Norfolk, who informed Dr Nelson that the chassis was far too badly damaged to repair so he bought a 1976 model, chassis number 'V8/11472/RCA' from Bob Fountain of Aston Services, while Philip Watson at Stratton's stripped every last nut and bolt off the damaged car. Dr Nelson then transferred many of the process unit's components onto this running chassis, including the seats, interior, bonnet, wheels, skis, etc. However, the film car's dashboard and other minor trim items were not transferred, the original dash being left in place. These original parts will be included in the sale for the new owner to complete the conversion if he/she so desires, together with many other V8 components from the cars destroyed or damaged during the filming, including trim, a spiked tyre, etc.
This car has appeared at numerous motor shows and James Bond events around the world and has become quite a celebrity vehicle. In 2009 the Aston went on show at Dr Nelson's new museum 'The Bond Museum' at Keswick in the Lake District and became a star attraction, featuring at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and in Octane magazine's article about 'Bond cars'. Indeed, many fans considering 'The Living Daylights' Aston Martin V8 to be one of the best Bond vehicles with its skis, rockets, bullet-proof screen and even jet propulsion. In 2010 Dr Nelson sent the film's main car off for restoration and when complete it took the place of the process car in the Museum.
James Bond vehicles are rarely available for sale these days and James Bond Aston Martins are almost impossible to acquire at any price. Although not used during the film's production, '11472' incorporates many of the original 'Bond gadgets' from 'The Living Daylights' and thus represents a rare opportunity to acquire a James Bond-related Aston Martin at a fraction of the cost of an actual movie car. (It should be noted that the registration mark '77 GYL' is being retained by the vendor).
Tim Schofield, UK Head of Collectors Motorcars Department comments, "James Bond vehicles are rarely available for sale these days and James Bond Aston Martins are almost impossible to acquire at any price. This car incorporates many of the original 'Bond gadgets' from 'The Living Daylights' and is a must for any true 007 fan."
